2018 NFL Draft: Key strengths and weaknesses for Sam Darnold

Weakness: Throwing Motion

One of the biggest knocks against Sam Darnold is that his throwing motion isn’t exactly fluid. It’s somewhere in between Byron Leftwich and Russell Wilson, although I’m more inclined to learn towards the latter—and there isn’t much wrong with that.

Nevertheless, Darnold has acknowledged that this is an issue by working to retool his throwing motion—a sign that even he knows it can be problematic.

Darnold puts a significant amount of pressure on his elbow with the way he cocks the ball back and rifles it forward. That doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll suffer an injury, but it’s an issue that he’s proactively addressing—a positive sign, at the very least.

Beyond the injury concerns, Darnold needs to shorten his throwing motion if he’s going to be able to get the ball out quickly in the NFL—a key for all quarterbacks.

Darnold may not be drafted into a situation with a stable offensive line, which could make this an even greater priority. Furthermore, edge defenders in the NFL are more athletic than ever before, meaning an elongated motion will put Darnold in danger of being strip sacked.

Darnold is actively working to address this issue, but it’s something that teams will likely be testing when he comes in for individual NFL Draft workouts.